"The Man Who Was Almost a Man"

Paper Summary:

This paper analyzes the main character, Dave, in Wright's novel. It considers the nature of life for young black males as represented by Wright. The paper focuses on the story and what literary critics have had to say about its meaning.

From the Paper:

"Dave's motivation for wanting the gun is also made clear after he has it, where Wright (278) says "if he were holding his gun in his hand, nobody could run over him; they would have to respect him." For Dave then, the gun is a way for him to gain control and force people to respect him. It is also relevant that a gun is an object that gives one power and not a way that one becomes personally powerful. This emphasizes that Dave is not actually making himself more powerful and overcoming his repression. Instead, he is just gaining a means of making people respect him. In short, he is attempting to take his power back by force. Even in gaining the gun though, Dave does not actually achieve this aim. Instead, he shows his confusion because he does not know what to do with the gun once he has it. Most importantly, he continues to act as if he is powerless by sneaking away to use his gun. "

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